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Anomaly. Or Anamoly in this case. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means “inconsistent with or deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected.”

As the story goes, the Anamoly art show was first created in December of 2009 while art teacher Mrs. Guss was on maternity leave. The name “Anamoly,” was chosen by students at the time as a combination of Mrs. Guss’s daughters’ names — Annie and Molly, her new baby. It was also created as casual preview of the Odyssey ArtWalk, a show that takes place in the spring.

“Anamoly is a trial run for Odessey,” senior Campbell Royales said. “It’s so we know how things can run smoothly, how to set up things, what works, what doesn’t work, how to deal with other people, how to present ourselves and try to sell things, make a couple dollars. But it’s mostly a trial run so we have a big shebang at the end of the year.”

Each year students in AP Studio Art, AP Drawing, Senior Portfolio, and Senior Design and Production come together to put on the Anamoly art show. It is a place where they can display their hard work and commitment, and their passion for what they do.

“Art is all I do. It is my life. I plan on going to college for it. It’s an outlet and my biggest frustration at the same time. It’s everything to me,” Royales said.

Because the students in the show are the school’s most advanced artists, it’s also a way to demonstrate how far people can go in the art department.

“Anamoly for me is an opportunity to showcase what we work so hard for in our classes. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh it’s just art, it’s like a blowoff class that everyone does,’ but when you get to the higher levels, you can see the work people put in,” junior Fiona Pack said. “You get to actually showcase what talents you have and what you can express yourself with and put your time into.”

Anamoly also teaches art students how to put together their very own show for the first time.

“[Anamoly] is a place for any artist to experience an art show for the first time,” Karl Feliciano said. “This is my first art show, and I’m having a blast here. It’s great, meeting new people, and seeing people who are interested in art, and to be able to see other people’s art and to see what they can do.”

Art shows like these are a way to share with community what goes on in the H basement of Cary-Grove and to get feedback.

“It’s a chance to show my peers what I’ve been doing, because I think that artists don’t get to show their work that much, especially in school,” senior Scarlett Costello said. “It’s really exciting to be able to hear what people think of my work and get their feedback, because I can’t give feedback to myself.”

All in all, the Anamoly art show is a great place for artists and the community to come together to foster appreciation and support for our local artists.